Mechanical catcher for rolling mills



Sept. 5, 1933. w. J. CROWLEY MECHANICAL CATCHER FOR ROLLING MILLS FiledAug. 6, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l Sept. 5, 1933.

W. J. CROWLEY MECHANICAL CATGHER FOR ROLLING MILLS Filed Aug. 6, 1931 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Sept. 5, 1933 YMECHANllCAl, CATCHER FOR ROLLNGMELLS William .lohn Crowley, Claymont, Del. Application August 6, 1931.Serial No. 555,572

7 Claims.

This invention relates to certain improvements in mechanical catchersfor Vreturning the sheet.r

it to be drawn over the upper rolland into position to again passbetween the rolls in the reducing process.

The object of my invention is to so construct apparatus that a carrierknown as a peel will be held in a substantially horizontal position whenit receives the sheet bar and then will be raised to the upper position,remaining substantially horizontal until it reaches a point above theupper roll oi the mill so that the said bar can be pulled off of thepeel and onto the table at the feed yend o 'the mill, when it is againpassed between the rolls and the above operation repeated.

1n the accompanying drawings? Fig. 1 is a side view of a two-highrolling mill, showing my improved mechanical catcher back ci the rolls,and also showing the peel in full lines in the receiving position and indotted lines in the upper position;

Fig. 2 is a sectional `plan view on the line 2-2, Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a detached perspective View oi the peel; and

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of one of thechains and a chain guide.

1 are thehousings of the rolling mill. 2 is the lower roll and 3 is theupper roll. 4 is the feed table at the front of the rolls from which thesheet bar is fed to the pass between the rolls.' 5 is a iixed rack atthe rear o i the rolls, onto which the sheet bar is delivered after itemerges from the pass between the rolls. This rack may be supported in axed position in any suitable manner. l

6 is a base frame oi my improved mechanical catcher. Mounted on one sideof Athis frame is an electric motor '7, in the present instance. On thespindle 8 of this motor is a pinion 9, which meshes with the gear wheel10 on a shaft 11, mounted in bearings 12. At the opposite end of theshaft 1l is a sprocket wheel 13 around which passes a chain 14. Thischain passes around a sprocket wheel on a shaft 16, which extends fromone side oi the frame to the other, as shown in Fig. 2. On this shaft isa sprocket wheel 16a, around which passes a chain 17, which in turnpasses around a sprocket wheel 18, on a short shaft 19, having itsbearings in the upper vertical K bearing plate 2() at one side of themachine. On

the shaft 19 is a sprocket wheel 21 for one of the main chains 22, whichcarry the peel 23. This chain passes around a series of guide wheels24-25-26 and partially around an offset guide wheel 27 and aroundsprocket wheels 28 and 29 at the upper end oi the vertical bearing plate20.

At the opposite side of the machine is a chain 30, which is driven fromthe shaft 16.` On the end of the shaft 16 is a sprocket wheel 31, `overwhich passes` a chain 32 around a sprocket wheel 33 on a short shaft 34,on which is a sprocket wheel 35( The inain chain 30 at that side of themachine passes around the sprocket wheel 35 and around guide wheels 36,37 and 38, and partially around an offset guide wheel 39, and aroundsprocket wheels 40 and 41. The wheel 41 in the present instance isdirectly in line with the sprocket wheel .23 on the oppositeside of theInachine. The sprocket wheels 35 to 41, inclusive, are mounted on abearing plate 20a. The two main chains 22 and 30 are driven at the samespeed.

The peel 23 is made, in the present instance, as shown in Fig. 3, havinga cross-bar 42. One end 43 of thisbar .is bent towards the rear and issecured Vto the chain 22 at m, The other end 44 of the bar isbent'forwardly and is attached to the chain Boat y. vProjecting from thecrossbar 42 are a series oi longitudinal bars 45, which are arranged tosupport the sheet bars as they are delivered from the pass ofthe rolls.The outer end of each bar45 is tapered as at 46 to t as close aspossible the rolls .2 and 3 of the rolling mill.` f

.By arranging the twol main chains 22 and 30 in the manner shown andattaching the peel 23 to the chains as indicated in they drawings, thepeel travels ina substantially horizontal path.

For instance, when the peel 23 is in the position shown in full lines inFig'. l, it is in position to receive a sheet bar as it is passedbetween the rolls 2 and 3 of the mill, and owing to the oisettingiof theguide wheels 27 and 39 the peel is backed-oil so as to yclear the upperroll 3 while moving upwards and then is moved forward due to the p01sition voi? the wheels 26, 28, r33e-nd 40, the peel being projectedforwardly so as to be abovethe rolls and in position for an operator tograsp the sheet bar with tongs and to drop it onto the feed table at thefront of the machine. The peel is then carried by the chains backwardsto the extreme end of the machine and moved to the lower level and isbrought forward to be again presented in position in front of the passbetween the rolls to receive a sheet bar. This operation is continueduntil the bar has been reduced to the proper thickness.

as indicated by the arrows in Figrl, and while I` have shown the bearingframes 20 and 20a made of plates extending vertically from the base 6,the 1 ing the rack to clear the upper roll in its passage.

bearing frames may be designed in any suitable manner without departingfrom the essential fea-v tures of the invention.

It will be understood that while I have de k scribed my invention asparticularly adapted for handling plate bars, it can be used forhandling sheet bars or other types of Vbars without departing fronitheessential features of the invention.

'In the drawings a single chainis located at each Y side of the machine,but it will be understood that more' than two chains may be used, andthe chains may Vbe arranged in sets if desired, del

pending upon the width ofthe rolls to which the mechanical catcher'isapplied.

1.v The combination vof a pair of rolls;V a fixed rack which receivesthe plate bar from the pass between the rolls; vtwo endless chains;meansfor driving the lchains in the same direction; and a peel carriedbythe said chains in a substantially horizontal position, so as to liftthe plate bar from the rack and deliver it to a point above the upperroll.

. ,2. The combinationin a rolling mill'having two rolls; a rack` at therear of said rolls in position to receive a plate bar from the passbetween the rolls; two endless chains moving inthe same direction; meansfor driving said chains, one chain being located in advance of the otherchain; and a peel secured to the two chains so as to remain insubstantially a, horizontal position, so that the peel will lift theplate bar from the rackvand deliverit to a pointtabove theupper roll.

3; Thecombination in a rolling mill,.of two t rolls; a rack' at the backof the rolls and located so as to receive a plate bai from the p assbetween the rolls;. two endless chains, one located in advance 'of theother and both ,drivenl in the same direction; means for driving saidchains; three guide rollers at the front end of the machine, the centralroll being offset; and a peel secured to both chains so that the peelafter lifting the plate off of the rack will back away from the rolls toclearthe upper roll and will be projected above the upper roll, the peelmoving ina substantially horizontal plane. j

4. The combination in a rolling mill, of two rolls; la rack back of therolls, located to receive a sheet platerfrom the pass between the rolls,said rack consisting of a series of bars; two endless chains; sprocketwheels around which the chains pass; shafts for thesaid sprocket wheels;

bearings for the said shafts; means for driving the chains in onedirection, the forward sprocket wheels being so arranged that the chainsin passing from the lower to the upper run will be offset; a peelsecured to both chains, said peel consisting of a transverse bar; and aseries of longitudinal bars alternating with the bars of the rack, oneof said chains being located in advance of the other, so that the peelwill be held in the substantially horizontal position while it'islifting a plate barfroxn the rack to a point above the upper roll, theoffsetting of the chains allown 5. The combination in a rolling mill, oftwo roll-s; a rack at the rear of the said rolls, in position to receivea plate bar from the pass between the rolls, said rack consisting of aseries of longitudinal bars, disconnected at the rear end; a catcherconsisting of a frame located at the rear of the rolling mill and havingbearings for guide wheels;`two chains arranged to pass around the guidewheels, one chain being on one side of the frame and the other on theopposite side thereof; and means for driving said chains, the forwardend of one chain being located nearer the rolls than the forward end ofthe other chain; a peel consisting of a cross-bar and havinglongitudinal bars arranged to pass through the spaces between the barsAof the rack, one end of the crossbar having a rearward extension whichis atchains arranged to move always in the same direction, means fordriving said chains, at least one Yof the chains being located inadvance of the rest and a peel secured tof said chains so as to remainin a substantially horizontal position whereby said peel will lift aplate bar from the rack and deliver it to a point Vabove the rolls, Saidpeel being subsequently carried by the chains into position to liftanother plate bar from said rack after the pass between said rolls.

7. The combination in a rolling mill having upper and lower rollers, ofa rack at the rear of said rolls in position to receive a plate bar fromthe pass between the rolls, a'plurality of endless chains arranged tomove always in the same direction, means for driving said chains, and apeel secured to said chains so as to remain in a substantiallyhorizontal position whereby said peel will lift a plate bar from therack and deliver it to a point above the rolls, said peel beingsubsequently carried by the chains rearwardly of said rolls and thendown and toward the rolls into position to lift another plate bar fromsaid rack

